


Coffee Solves It All

by alexcat



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Alternate Universe - Bookstore, Alternate Universe - Coffee Shops & Cafés, Alternate Universe - Modern: No Powers, M/M, Minor Bucky Barnes/Darcy Lewis, Non-Explicit Sex, Past Pepper Potts/Tony Stark, Steve Rogers Needs a Hug, Tony gets injured, what if au challenge
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-28
Updated: 2021-02-28
Packaged: 2021-03-12 09:35:37
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 8,363
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29757648
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/alexcat/pseuds/alexcat
Summary: Steve and Bucky decided to add a coffee shop to their neighborhood bookstore. Tony Stark, who has dropped out of the corporate rat race, goes to work for them.  He really likes the handsome blond owner.
Relationships: James "Bucky" Barnes & Steve Rogers, Steve Rogers/Tony Stark
Comments: 3
Kudos: 44
Collections: Of Elves and Men, What If? AU Challenge





	Coffee Solves It All

**Author's Note:**

> For the What If AU February Challenge. My first coffee shop AU.

Steve Rogers co-owned and ran a new and used bookstore in Brooklyn called Old Soldiers Bookstore. He and his best friend since they were kids, Bucky Barnes, had come back from their stint the Army and were at loose ends. Steve inherited an old store building from an aunt. He moved upstairs in the small apartment and he and Bucky opened a used bookstore downstairs. The used bookstore had done so well, with in person and online sales, that they’d added new books as well the next year. 

Now they were thinking about adding a coffee shop to the store. They’d start out small, just a single machine to make plain coffee, lattes and such. None of those fru fru coffees that tasted more like a dessert than coffee. 

But they needed someone to man the coffee machine. 

Bucky put a notice in the window of the shop. 

“Maybe we should put an ad in the paper or online,” Steve said. 

“Why? If we do it this way, maybe someone here in the neighborhood will come by.” Bucky was all about acting locally. He was involved in local issues and was even thinking about running for office. 

“You’re right, I suppose.”

Bucky grinned. “Of course I am. I’m almost always right.” 

Steve harrumped and went back to wrapping books that were to go out in the evening mail. 

They sold as many books online as they did in the store. Both numbers were growing quite quickly. There was already enough work that they’d hired Darcy Lewis, a college student who lived nearby to help out. She helped in the afternoons when she wasn’t in class. She was working on her Master’s degree at NYU and had fallen in love with the store when she stopped by to hunt a cheap copy of a textbook she needed. 

All women who came into the store seemed to fall under the spell of the one-armed veteran with the bedroom eyes. Darcy was no exception. She was crazy about Bucky, too.

Darcy made her appearance at just that moment when Steve and Bucky were discussing hiring a barista. 

“Hi, James, Steve. What am I doing today?” 

Steve motioned to the sheaf of orders on his desk. “Help me get these ready to go out. The mail carrier will be here at 4:00.”

Darcy put her purse in Steve’s desk drawer and hung her jacket on the coat tree. Soon the two of them had a rhythm going with the book packaging. They chatted as they worked. 

“Why don’t you ask him out?” Steve asked her.

“Who?” she asked, completely nonchalant. 

“Bucky. I think he likes you.” 

She blushed. “You think so?” 

“I do.” 

“I’ll think about it then.” She was quiet a moment. “So James says you’re putting in a coffee shop. Gonna hire a barista?” 

“I think we’ll have to. And we need to add some baked goods to go with the coffee – maybe cupcakes or muffins and cookies.” 

“Just what I need! Cookies!” she was clearly not unhappy with the idea though. 

Steve laughed. “You’re already sweet, but everyone loves cookies.” 

“Silly man. Of course they do.” 

“Bucky made a sign.”

“I saw it. So do you have the machine yet?”

“It’ll be installed next week, we hope. We’ve run some water pipes and the inspector has to come, then we’ll be ready.”

They got all the orders ready as they chatted. Steve enjoyed talking to Darcy. She was smart and funny. He did wish she and Bucky would go out. He knew they both liked one another and both of them were too shy to ask the other one. Or maybe just too stubborn. He wasn’t sure which. 

*

Tony Stark was a wealthy inventor who owned a huge multinational tech company, one of the largest in the world, Stark Industries. They made everything from smart phones to unmanned aircraft for the military. 

He was disillusioned with it all – one of his unmanned bombers had hit a civilian target and killed several dozen innocent people. He wanted out of the military hardware business. His partner in life and in the business was – had been Pepper Potts. Ms. Potts was taking over the running of his companies and the dialing back of military contracts as well. They had agreed to take a break from their relationship though, since it often caused conflict.

He moved to an apartment in Brooklyn to get away from it all. He called himself Tony Edwards, as his own name was too well known to hide under it. 

Tony had just moved into his new apartment and was exploring the neighborhood, when he saw the sign for a barista in the bookstore window. He’d walked by the little store several times and had been interested. Though he was high tech all the way, he still loved a good thriller now and then.

And coffee – he loved coffee. It was his go-to since he’d given up drinking and the wild lifestyle he’d had for many years. He was simply getting too old for it. It wasn’t nearly as much fun as it had been in his twenties. 

He decided to go inside the next morning if the sign was still up. He wasn’t really a barista but he figured he could work out the machine pretty fast. He made espresso at home all the time.

When he walked by the bookstore, he saw the sign again and went inside. 

“Hi. You looking for someone to make coffee?” he asked the man behind the counter. 

The man was tall and had one arm. His hair was dark and pulled back into a ponytail. His eyes danced with mirth and mischief. “We are. We decided to add coffee to the shop. I’m James Barnes.” Tony introduced himself and Bucky turned toward the back. “Hey Steve! There’s someone here about the barista job.” 

Tony’s eyes widened when Steve came out from the back. He’d never seen anyone like this Steve. He was tall, over six feet, blondish and had eyes as blue as the sky. The paragon stuck his hand out and shook Tony’s hand. 

“I’m Steve Rogers, the other owner. Come on back and let’s talk.” 

“Tony Edwards,” Tony offered. 

He led Tony back to his desk, which was piled high with books, mailers, lists, as well as his desktop. Tony was itching to tell him that SI had an inventory system that would make cataloguing and inventory a snap. 

Steve motioned for him to sit in the chair facing his desk. “Tell me a little about yourself,” he said with a smile. Tony thought that he’d have given Steve the Earth at that moment if he’d asked. 

“I am new to the area and thought I’d look for a job. I’m semi-retired from a tech company. I don’t need a lot of income, but I do need to get out and be around people.” 

Steve laughed. “Not a lot of income is just what we can pay. We started the store several years ago because both of us were just out of the Army and needed to jump start our lives. I inherited this building and moved in upstairs. We fixed it up down here and opened a used bookstore. After a while, we decided to sell new books as well. Making a little coffee bar seems the next progression for us.” He blushed. “Sorry. I asked about you and then talked your ears off.” 

Tony smiled. “I think I’ve told you all there is to tell. I do have to say I’m not a barista, but I’m a quick study.” 

“Good enough. The equipment will be here next Wednesday. You can start anytime. We have the plumbing done, but we do need to set up a little coffee shop space. Maybe you’d like to help with that?” Steve said. 

Tony nodded. Anything to spend more time looking at this beautiful man. 

About that time, a young woman came into the store. “Hi guys! Oh, a new guy!” She stopped short of Tony and smiled. “I’m Darcy Lewis, grad student and Steve’s packing assistant. Are you the coffee guy?” 

“I am. Tony Edwards.”

“You look familiar,” she said, cocking her head sideways. “Maybe I’ve seen you around the neighborhood.” 

Tony smiled at her. “Probably so. I’ve passed the store several times.” Tony figured a man would have to be dead not to notice Darcy’s considerable physical assets. God, was she built! He immediately wondered if Rogers was her boyfriend. 

“I’m going to talk to James. Let me know when you’re ready to do the orders,” she said to Steve and made a beeline for Barnes in the front of the store.

When Darcy had gone, Steve stood and reached for Tony’s hand to shake it again. “We can’t pay much, but I’m thinking we won’t have coffee but for limited hours in the day. Maybe afternoons?” He was thinking out loud. 

“Well, coffee is a beverage of choice at breakfast so maybe you should do mornings. Are you doing pastries or baked goods?” Tony asked him. He loved to have a nice muffin or even a scone with his morning coffee. 

“I hadn’t thought of it that way. We’ll have to brainstorm on hours. We both know a couple of bakeries who’d love to sell their goods here. Welcome aboard, Edwards! You can start anytime you want to.” 

Tony smiled. “I’ll be back tomorrow then. At 9? You said we needed to get a little coffee shop set up.”

He thought the room got brighter when Steve smiled. Damn, what a handsome man he was. 

*

Steve found that he was way more excited about Edwards and the coffee shop than he should have been. Tony Edwards was a gorgeous man. Sure, he was a few years older than he was, but not that many. He’d hesitated to hire the man because what he’d really wanted was to ask him out. 

As much as he loved his life here with Bucky as his business partner and best friend and sweet, funny Darcy, he was lonely. He longed for someone to go home to, to love, to spend time with. 

He had never had preference for one sex over the other, which really made him not fit in with heterosexuals, except for Bucky, because they assumed that he was really gay and wouldn’t admit it. The gay community considered him a straight man trying to pull one over on everyone so he could have a little fun on the side. Neither was true. 

He had been with people of both sexes and enjoyed them equally, but he longed for love, a belonging to someone that had always eluded him. He hadn’t given up hope yet and this man, Tony, was certainly intriguing to him. 

He and Bucky had bought some chairs and small tables at second hand and charity shops. All were mismatched but had either a decent finish or the paint was still good. All they needed were cleaning and polishing. Steve had also bought a box of flatware at one of the same shops. They got thick new coffee mugs for people who wanted to have their coffee at the shop and nice paper cups for carry out. 

All this needed to be sorted between now and when the coffee machines arrived next week. 

Tony showed up for work the next day. He was dressed in jeans and a simple white button up shirt. Steve thought he looked good enough to eat. 

“I’m ready to work,” Tony said as he surveyed the corner of the shop that would be the coffee shop. 

“Glad you’re here. We were hoping to do most of this without having to close the store to move stuff. With you here, Buck can wait on customers when they come in and still help us with any heavy lifting.”

They moved the books shelves around to make room for the tables and chairs. There was a long counter already there from the previous incarnations of the store and they kept it. They’d had a cabinet maker in to cover the counter in a new top, a deep green one that matched the colors they’d chosen when they started the bookstore several years back. All they had to do was set up the coffee shop and await the machines… and Tony had to learn how to make coffee. 

“What do you think?” Steve asked. They’d made a loose grouping around the coffee bar, with the tables far enough apart for privacy but still within the area. 

“Are you going to move the sofa and the wing chairs here, too?” Tony asked. 

“I hadn’t thought about it, but it’ll make a nice place to sit more comfortably.”

They moved the sofa and the coffee table as well. Steve liked it. “I think this works,” Tony told him as Darcy came back to check it out. 

“I like it, too. Maybe I’ll come here and do my classwork,” Darcy said with a grin and flopped onto the couch. “Yep. It’s perfect.” 

Now all they had to do was wait for the machines. 

*

Tony called Pepper when he got home and told her what he was doing on his sabbatical. 

“Are you sure it’s a good idea not to tell them who you are?” 

“I want to be treated real and I think that in order to do that, I need to be just Tony from down the block. Steve is a nice guy, handsome as hell, too. I snapped a pic. Let me send it to you.” 

He sent her the photo of Steve, Bucky and Darcy. 

“Who is the girl?” was the first thing she asked. 

“College girl who helps Steve with online sales.” 

“Which one is Steve? Both of them are gorgeous,” Pepper said. 

“The blond is Steve.” 

“Tony, don’t fuck with this guy. He doesn’t deserve the Stark treatment.” 

“What?” Tony said, feigning innocence. 

“How many young men and women have you used and tossed aside?”

“I don’t feel that way about him. I – Pep – he’s different. He’s serious and so nice. He talks to me like I’m valuable and he doesn’t even know I’m a billionaire.”

“You be careful. And leave the girl with the big boobs alone. She’s young enough to be your kid.” 

“I think she has a crush on the one-armed guy.”

“Behave, Tony. You’re just visiting their world.” 

“I will,” he assured her and rang off. 

He realized he needed to get educated on coffee makers. Steve had told him what kind they were getting so he googled videos and watched for quite a while. He read several articles about coffee and called a friend who owned a coffee shop supply company and got the short course on coffee types and such. He knew he wasn’t an expert, but he knew as much as the regular barista at Starbucks, maybe more. 

He dreamed of coffee part of the night and the rest of the night, he had dreams of strong arms around him, saying sweet words into his ear. He never saw the face, but he didn’t need to in order to know it was Steve he was dreaming about. 

He was at work at 9am the next morning. 

“I’m glad you’re here. The coffee makers are coming in this afternoon. We can go to the bakeries and make some arrangements for our goodies,” Steve told him. “Oh, and we need to get you an apron. I’m sure Darcy ordered one or two with the company logo on them, but you’ll need one until they come in.”

They visited the bakeries, both run by friends of Steve’s and made arrangements for baked goods to be dropped off before opening every day. They found a kitchen supply store and got Tony a green apron to use until his official ones came in. 

When they got back to the bookstore, Tony put his apron on. “Do I look convincing?” he asked Steve. 

Before he thought, Steve said, “You make me want coffee.” Then he blushed like a school girl.

Tony was inordinately pleased. He smiled at Steve and let Steve’s blush pass without comment. “Let’s put some of the stuff on the shelves,” Tony said.

There were shelves along the wall around the place for the machines and also room for the cups and plates under the counter. They busied themselves with that until Tony noticed Darcy staring at them. 

“Aren’t you busy little bees!” She came back and looked at their handiwork. “This looks great, guys. Now I want coffee, too!”

The machines were installed after lunch and Tony made his first cup of americano. He handed it to Steve. He tasted it and made a face. 

“Wow! That’s strong!” 

Tony took the cup back and tasted it. “About right for me.” 

“If you say so,” Steve said. 

Bucky laughed from the other part of the store. “Tony, he doesn’t even drink coffee, so pay him no mind. Make me a latte.” 

Tony fiddled with the machine a few minutes and poured out at least one drink before he took Bucky a cup. He was actually getting nervous now. He hadn’t realized how much he’d wanted Steve’s approval. 

Bucky sipped and nodded. “This is good. Let me taste the other one.” 

Tony handed him the Americano and he sipped. “A little strong but still good. Steve drinks tea. And water.” Bucky looked at Steve fondly. They seemed so close that Tony had to wonder if they were a couple, despite the flirtation between Bucky and Darcy. 

Steve and Bucky decided to have their grand opening a week from Saturday, usually a busy day for the store. It gave them time to get everything squared away and time for Tony to practice his coffee making. He was surprised at how it excited he was over the whole thing. Maybe it was rubbing off from his employers. 

*

Steve was nervous about opening the coffee shop. Hell, he was still nervous about the book store and it had been open for over two years. He was glad that Bucky was happy running the front of the store. It wasn’t that he didn’t like people or that he was shy, he simply preferred the sameness of working in the back. 

He’d had enough excitement in the Army to last a lifetime. 

No matter how well trained or ready they were, there were always surprises on the field and sometimes an operation seemed like barely contained insanity. He and Bucky had been in an elite commando unit and even there, chaos ruled the day too often. 

In the store, he packed books, made labels and sent them, he did inventory, he ordered stock and all was contained and sensible.

He had to admit that first Darcy and now Tony had added a bit more spontaneity to his life and so far, it wasn’t more than he wanted to handle. As a mater of fact, he was growing quite fond of Tony with his sarcastic wit and those soulful brown eyes that had just a tad of sadness. 

Everyone was there at 7am on Grand Opening day. Steve, Bucky, Darcy and Tony all work their green Old Soldiers Bookstore shirts and Tony wore his matching apron as well. Darcy brought her friend, Wanda, to help out as well. 

Several of their regular patrons were there at 9am when they opened the doors. Steve often teased Bucky about his fan club, a group of older women who came in once a week to buy a new mystery for their book club. They also enjoyed teasing Bucky and flirting with him. 

They set their sights on Tony this morning. He was so busy with them and the new faces as well that Steve helped by serving the coffee after it was made. They were all quite busy all day and they sold more books than they’d ever sold before in one day, not to mention all the coffee and cookies. 

They closed at 6pm and every one flopped into a chair or onto the sofa once the doors were locked. 

Steve asked, “You all want to come upstairs for a pizza?” 

Bucky grinned that wicked grin Steve knew so well. “Sorry, but I’m taking Darcy and Wanda out tonight.” 

Steve raised an eyebrow. 

Darcy laughed. “We’re going to a basketball game. Going to see the Knicks play. Wanda had tickets and no one to go with so now she does.” Both girls looked quite happy about the whole thing. 

“Tony?” Steve asked. “Pizza?”

“Sure. I’m not sure I can walk anyway. You may have to carry me up the steps.” 

Steve was a little nervous when the others left for their ballgame. 

“Does Bucky live here, too?” Tony asked Steve as they went up to Steve’s apartment.

Steve was surprised. “He lives with his mom and sister still. His mom and sister are both teachers and he moved back in with them when he got out of the Army.” 

“Tell me something about yourself, Steve,” Tony asked as Steve closed the door and put his keys on a table by the front door. He flipped on some lights and led Tony to his kitchen. 

*

Tony was exhausted. He hadn’t worked that hard in years. He found that he was excited to be having dinner with Steve, despite being tired. He was also glad to find that Barnes didn’t live with Steve. 

He was going to have to tell him the truth if he was interested in Steve though. What was he even thinking about? Did Rogers even date? Did he date men? Was he crazy? 

No matter. 

Steve got them both a beer. “What do you like on pizza?” 

“Pepperoni and with that, anything else is good.” 

Steve ordered a large pepperoni pizza with a couple of salads. 

“I’m so glad you came to work for us. Bucky and Darcy were so intent on the coffee shop thing. I guess it got them a new project besides me.” 

“Besides you?” Tony was intrigued. 

“They think I need a date. Both of them trying to fix me up with everyone from their aunts to the girl who sells flowers on the corner.”

“And do you date any of them?” Tony asked. 

“No time. They may pick on you if you’re not careful,” Steve warned him with a laugh. “And yet, they can’t seem to see how much they like one another.” 

“Even I noticed that,” Tony said. 

“Who do you date, Tony? Got a special girl? Wife? Husband?” Steve asked with a gentle smile. 

“Gonna fix me up if I say I’m single?”

“Do you want a fix up?” 

‘With you, maybe,’ Tony said inside his head. 

“I’m single now, but that is always changeable,” he said out loud and was saved by the bell as the pizza arrived. Steve set it on the coffee table and they ate it out of the box. Both of them found out they were really hungry as they gobbled the cheesy pizza. 

“I think I might have forgotten to eat today,” Steve said as he finished his second piece. 

“I had coffee,” Tony said with a smile. 

“Thanks so much. We don’t pay you enough for what you’ve already done.” 

After the pizza was done, they cleaned up. Steve had saved a couple of cookies for dessert. They ate them with relish. Tony wanted to stay just to be around Steve, but he was tired and suspected Steve was as well. 

“What time do you want me back at work, boss?” Tony asked as he got ready to go home. 

“We open at 9. I am going to pick up baked goods at 8. You should be able to get there just a few minutes before 9. I hate to work you too hard.” 

Tony laughed. “I’ve worked one day. I think I’ll be okay.” 

He shook Steve’s hand at the door and left. 

*

They soon fell into a routine at the shop. The coffee shop was not open but until noon on Mondays and Tuesdays. Steve worked it on Sundays to give Tony a day off. Sometimes Darcy ran it as well. The customers loved Tony and business was always better with him making the coffee. 

Once a week, they all had takeout after the store closed or went out to dinner as a group. Steve noticed Darcy and Bucky holding hands once in a while and he was glad for them. He hated that it only made him feel a little lonelier. 

Maybe he should ask Wanda out. She was fun with a kind of dark humor sometimes. Besides, she was sexy as hell to boot. But she didn’t fire up his imagination. 

He did find himself thinking about Tony a lot. 

Steve didn’t watch television very often, but he did watch the news now and again. The news had finished and Steve was getting his dishes up to take to the kitchen when one of those celebrity gossip shows came on. 

_Where is Tony Stark hiding? One of our intrepid followers nabbed this photo of a man much like Tony working in a bookstore in Brooklyn. WTF, Tony?_

Steve stared at the photo. It was his Old Soldiers Bookstore and there behind the coffee bar stood Tony Edwards. Apparently, this was also famous billionaire, Tony Stark. 

His phone rang. It was Bucky. 

“Did you just see what I saw?” 

Steve didn’t say anything. He was stunned. Why would Tony do this to them? 

“Hey, Stevie? You okay?” Bucky asked. 

“Why would he do such a thing?” Steve felt betrayed. He also realized that he had no reason to feel this way. Tony was an employee, nothing more. 

“Steve, you need to ask him. I’m sure he has his reasons.” 

“Making a fool of regular people?” Steve was angry, angrier than he’d been in a long time. 

“I think not. Talk to him.” Bucky always saw the best in people. “He works tomorrow.”

“We’ll see,” was all Steve could offer. 

Steve was nervous as hell the next morning when it was time for Tony to come in. He half expected him to just not show up. Bucky was already in the store when Steve went downstairs. 

“You okay, man?” he asked as he turned on the computers and opened the register. 

“Yeah. Just don’t know why he’d do that.” 

“I think it might not have anything to do with us or you. Give him a chance, Steve.” 

Steve was getting all the cups and plates ready when Tony came in, holding the door for the girl from the bakery shop with her box of muffins and cookies. As soon as she left, Steve gave Tony a hard stare but said nothing. 

Tony cleared his throat. “I think I might owe you an explanation.” 

“No shit,” was all Steve said. 

“Come on back. I’ll make you a coffee and put away the pastries while we talk.” Tony put on his clean apron and started putting the muffins and cookies in the cases on the counter. 

“Why are you working here?” 

“Well, you obviously know who I am. I – I’ve been running SI since I was in my early twenties when my parents were killed in a car crash. I recently turned control of the company to my friend and colleague, Virginia Potts. We both agreed that I needed to get away for a while to regroup.”

“But why the fake name?” 

“I didn’t want to be treated like I was ‘someone’.” He made quotation marks with his fingers. “I wanted to find something not tied to SI and that world. Would you have hired Tony Stark to make coffee?” 

Steve shook his head. “Probably not. But it makes us look stupid that we didn’t know.” 

“If anyone asks, tell them you did know. Tell them you did it as favor to me.” 

“Why us?” 

“I wanted something different – everything. I walked by here several times and liked the look of the place. I shopped in here a couple of times, too. When I saw the sign, well, I couldn’t resist.”

Steve wanted to be much angrier than he felt. He wanted to yell at Tony and at the same time, shockingly, even to himself, he wanted to kiss Tony! 

“Now do you quit and go home to your mansion?” Steve finally asked. 

“Um, actually, I thought I’d keep working here, if it’s okay with you.” 

Steve had no idea what to say to that. He finally nodded. 

*

Tony wasn’t too worried about being outed. He’d meant to tell Steve soon anyway, but he was concerned that Steve seemed defensive about it. He didn’t even want to examine why what Steve thought was so important to him. 

He figured that one pretty quickly. He was attracted to Steve and thought perhaps he should feel Steve out. 

A few days after the story on television, he approached Steve late in the day. “Want to come to my place for dinner?”

Steve looked panicked for a moment. Then he nodded. “The others?” he asked. 

“Just us. I think I heard Bucky and Darcy talking about basketball again.” 

“I – wha – sure. What do I need to bring?” 

“Cookies if there are any left? You like Chinese?”

“I do.”

“We’ll order when you get there.” 

Tony decided to wait for Steve and they’d go together. He called an Uber for them. Steve had a bag of cookies and shared a couple with the driver, a young woman who seemed a bit scared of two men in her car. Tony tipped her quite generously. 

Tony lived in a small second floor apartment in an old building that had been modernized and converted to condos. 

“You buy this?” 

“Nope. Renting from some people Pepper knows. They moved upstate and kinda wanted to keep the place. It’s furnished with their stuff but I like to tinker with tech stuff so I made one bedroom a workshop.”

He took Steve on a little tour. There were two bedrooms, a large bathroom with an old fashioned looking clawfoot tub and a rainwater shower head. The kitchen and dining room were combined with an island in the middle. Tony’s den was cozy with a big, puffy sofa and a huge television mounted on the wall. 

Steve laughed. “Better not let Bucky and Darcy see the television. They’ll live here during basketball season.” 

“Maybe we should all meet here sometime, maybe during the NBA finals or something like that. By the way it was nice of you to give the driver some cookies.” 

“She looked so scared of us. I’d have hugged her if I hadn’t been afraid she’d faint.” 

Tony brought the menu for the restaurant up on his phone and handed it to Steve. He decided on Kung Pao Chicken. Tony decided to have the same thing so they ordered family style. 

“We’ll get enough food for an army,” Tony told him. “But I do like Chinese leftovers.”

Tony put on water for tea, making them a pot full of jasmine tea that was ready about the same time that dinner arrived. They dug into the food rather quickly, both of them trying their skills with chopsticks and both doing fairly well. 

Tony had known since before he asked Steve to come over that he might ask him to be his – what? Boyfriend? Lover? 

He was pretty sure that Steve might be a little hesitant to jump right into his bed. Actually, he wasn’t even sure if Steve had an interest in him, or even in men. He did seem to want to be friends, anyway, so there _was_ that. 

“Did you want a bookstore growing up?” Tony asked him as they sipped their tea. 

“I wanted to be a soldier so I joined up right out of high school. So did Bucky. I was kind of skinny and sickly, but one of my mom’s nurse friends gave me this serum to make me grow, she said and it really must have been something I was lacking because after Basic Training, I looked like this.”

“Where were you stationed?” 

“We were both in Afghanistan.”

“I was there once. I got kidnapped and held for a while.” Tony tried to make it sound light, but he knew that Steve heard the dread in his voice. 

Tony had actually gone over to demonstrate one of his weapons, a missile. His convoy had been highjacked and he been imprisoned for several months. He had come hone a changed man, much to the chagrin of the military, who’s bought weapons from him for years. 

“I heard,” Steve said quietly. Tony knew he understood from his simple answer. 

“How long have you known Bucky?” 

“We met when I was maybe eight years old. Some big kids were bullying me and he came to my rescue. Made me so damn mad. I could fight my own battles, I thought, though I mostly got the crap beat out of me. I punched him and he laughed and we became friends. Have been ever since.” 

“Rhodey, Jim Rhodes, is my best friend. We met at MIT. He stood by me during my worst times, though he never let me get away with much without knowing where he stood.”

“After living like you have, why on earth would you want to slum with us?” 

“Come on, Steve. It’s not slumming. You guys are actually fun and I don’t worry about being stabbed in the back. Living this way is refreshing.”

“I need to get back home soon. Gotta get some sleep. Work tomorrow.”

“This was fun, Steve. I hope you’ll come again. Let me call you an Uber.” 

They didn’t have to wait long for the car. Tony fleetingly thought about kissing Steve, but decided the time wasn’t right yet. Maybe next time.

Steve stuck his hand out and shook Tony’s hand, sort of clapping him on the shoulder with his other hand before he got into the car. “See you tomorrow,” he said as he closed the door. 

*

By the time he got back home, Steve realized that he had been on a date with Tony. They did date things, all except the kissing. And he surely thought about that when he started to get in the car. 

When he finally went to bed, his dreams were filled with Tony and in the dreams, they kissed and kissed. He woke up hard and lonely. It had been a long time since he’d taken anyone to his bed, longer than he wanted to think about. 

What on earth was he going to do about this? 

He’d think about it later, he told himself, but he slid his hand under the sheet. 

*

Tony seldom slept much anyway and this night was no different. He worked on ideas for making the bookstore more computerized. He was sure he saw Steve doing all the mailing labels and such by hand. He knew he could help them there. There were lots of programs they could use that were open source or inexpensive as well. 

He called Pepper at 6 am. She got up super early and he knew she was probably reading her messages and drinking one of those smelly healthy drinks she had instead of coffee by now. 

“Hey Tony. How’s it going?” she asked, real concern in her voice. 

“I – well, I really like the guy I work for. He’s really a nice guy.” He told her about the bookstore, Steve, Bucky and even Darcy. 

“Sounds like a big, happy family,” she said, with no sarcasm in her voice. She sounded truly happy for him. 

“They are and they made me a member of their family. I think I might be sort of dating Steve.” 

“Does he know it? You know how you are sometimes.” 

“Not sure yet. I’m going to ask him out again soon.” 

They talked a few minutes longer and Tony told her his ideas about modernizing the little bookstore. 

“I’ll see if I can find something affordable for them. Sounds like a nice place. Maybe I’ll come by one day for a browse and some coffee.” 

“I make great coffee,” Tony told her with a smile.

“Tell him you want a date, Tony. Don’t assume he can read your mind.” 

“I’ll take that under advisement, Miss Potts.” 

Steve was already packing books when Tony got to the shop. The bakeries had not yet dropped off their goods for the day and Bucky hadn’t arrived yet, either. Tony always liked to get in early enough that he and Steve had a few minutes before anyone else came in. 

“Good morning,” Tony called out as the tied his apron on and began getting things ready for the day. 

Steve came out from his desk and smiled at Tony. “Thanks for last night. I enjoyed it.” 

Tony nodded. “Me too.” 

Bucky came in a few minutes later followed by the bakery delivery woman. They all worked without chatting to one another until the morning rush was done and about 10:30, Tony made Steve a latte and Bucky a cup of strong, black brew and they all took a short break. 

“I was talking to Pepper and we have some ideas to make your paperwork easier here,” Tony told them as they all stood around the register at the front of the store, sipping their coffees and eating blueberry muffins. 

“We do okay,” Steve said. “But I’ll take a look. Thanks, Tony.” 

Tony was more pleased than he should have been by Steve’s smile. He nodded and headed back to the coffee bar. He needed to figure out how to ask Steve for another date, but maybe, like Pepper suggested, he’d let Steve know it was a date this time. 

He actually didn’t have to bother. Before closing, Steve came out of the back. 

“Hey, Tony. Want to come up for dinner tonight? I’m making chili and the recipe makes way more than I can eat,” he said as he stepped around the bar to help Tony wash up the dishes. 

Tony looked over at him. “Sure. What do I need to bring?” 

“I got it covered, I think. Want to watch a movie?” 

“Sure. What kind of movies do you like?” 

“Maybe I’m silly, but I like superhero movies. I guess they appeal to the scrawny kid still inside me.” 

“I like them, too. The Avengers movies are fun.” 

“We’ll watch one of those then.”

Tony went home and showered and came back to Steve’s apartment. 

“Can I help?” 

“It’s all ready. Hope it’s not too hot.” 

“I like spicy food,” Tony said with a smile. “Sometime it isn’t too fond of me, but that’s what antacids are for.” 

“So which movie do you want to see?” Steve asked as he dished up chili. There was cheese, sour cream and chips as well. Steve reached into the fridge and got out two beers. 

“Thor? It’s pretty funny,” Tony said as they carried their bowls to the sofa. 

The two men started the movie and began to eat their chili. They didn’t talk a lot as they ate and soon, they were back in the kitchen for another bowl. After they finished eating, the two men sat side by side and watched television. 

Tony tried to work up enough nerve to put an arm around Steve, but he didn’t do it. Not this time. 

*

Steve wanted to kiss Tony so badly as they watched television. He was too shy, plus how could he? Tony worked for him. Could he ask an employee out? Would that even be ethical? 

The movie ended and Steve did manage to sort of slap Tony on the back again.

“I like that one. That intern looks like our Darcy, doesn’t she?” Steve said. 

“She does. Our Darcy is prettier, but the sassy bit is like our Darcy, too. So do you think she and Bucky have figured out they’re a couple yet?” Tony asked. 

“I think he spent the night at her apartment the other night. Whether there was anything but sleeping, who knows?” 

Tony stood up. “I need to get back home. Work comes early and my boss, well, my boss is actually a pretty nice guy so I don’t want to be late.” 

Steve walked him to the door and before he could stop himself, he leaned close and kissed Tony’s cheek.

Tony put his hand on his cheek and looked at Steve, then leaned forward and touched his lips to Steve’s. 

After the short kiss, he whispered, “I’ll see you tomorrow.” He opened the door and left. 

Steve stood there beside the closed door and raised his hand to touch his lips. Tony kissed him! He wanted to fling the door open and run outside before Tony left. He wanted him to come back inside and stay. 

But he did nothing. 

Tony didn’t show up for work the next morning and Steve was understandably confused and upset. Had he done something wrong? Had Tony rethought what he’d done? 

After he didn’t show up by opening time, other thoughts began to filter into his head. What if something had happened to Tony? What if he was hurt somewhere? 

Darcy came flying through the door at 10 am. She wasn’t supposed to be at work until afternoon. Steve could tell something was wrong by the look on her face. 

Tony! 

“Turn on the television!” she shouted as she made her way to the remote tucked under the counter where the frontregister was. She turned on the television mounted high in one corner. 

“…Stark was taken to a nearby hospital. More on this story as it develops.” The newswoman was saying. 

Steve stood up and opened his mouth, but no words came out. His heart was beating so fast that thought he might faint and his mouth was so dry he couldn’t swallow. 

“What -” he started to say when Darcy started talking over him. 

“Tony’s apartment building caught on fire early this morning. The firetrucks and ambulances were everywhere on my way to class,” she told him. 

Steve grabbed his phone and called Tony’s number. It, of course, went to voice mail. 

“How do we find out anything?” he asked of no one in particular. He paced the store like a caged tiger. 

“Call the hospitals?” Darcy suggested. 

“They aren’t going to give me any information.”

“Try Stark Industries?” Bucky came up with. 

“They won’t talk either. I – shit – I need to find him, to see if he’s all right.” He felt like he was moving in slow motion as he talked. 

His phone rang. It was Tony. 

“Hello? Tony?” he said, relief running through him, but it was short lived. 

A woman’s voice said, “No, this is Pepper Potts.” His heart fell further. “I saw you’d called and figured you’d seen the news. Tony’s building caught on fire and he was injured when he climbed out the window and fell. He broke his leg and got a light concussion. But he’s all right. He’s at Mercy Hospital. I’ll meet you at the front. I know what you look like.” 

Steve looked at Bucky and Darcy. “He’s in the hospital. She said he’d be all right. He climbed out the window and broke his leg.”

Bucky got Steve a cab to the hospital and as soon as he stepped into the lobby, a tall woman with strawberry blond hair came up to him. “Steve? I’m Pepper. He’s been worried about the coffee shop, believe it or not. He’ll be glad to see you.”

She led him to the elevator and they got off on the 4th floor. Tony was in a private room, probably one of the nicer ones in the hospital, but a hospital room is a hospital room and Tony looked small lying on his back in the bed. He smiled when Steve and Pepper stepped into the room. 

“Come to rescue me?” he asked. 

“Not this time,” Pepper told him. “The doctor says you have to stay overnight because of the bump on your head. They’ll put a cast on your leg before you go home tomorrow. The break isn’t bad, but you’ll have the cast for a few weeks.”

“How come they tell you this stuff and not me?”

She grinned. “Because I’m the grown-up. I brought your boss to see you.” 

Tony’s eyes lit up when he saw Steve. He held out his hand to Steve. Not knowing what else to do, Steve took his hand and sat down by the bed. “I’m glad you’re okay. When I heard the news, I was terrified,” Steve told him, squeezing his hand a little. 

“The fire was in the hall and when I climbed out the window, I found out that I am not nearly as coordinated as I thought I was,” Tony told him with a smile. “Pepper said my stuff didn’t burn up, so as soon as they let her in, she’ll have it moved to Stark Tower.” 

“I’m going to find some coffee and call Rhodey,” Pepper told them as she let herself out of the room, closing the door behind her. 

Steve looked at Tony after she left. “You scared me to death.” 

“All I could think about was that I’d be late to work.” 

“Pepper said you mentioned that. I – I want to kiss you,” came out of Steve’s mouth before he could stop it. 

“I want you to kiss me,” Tony answered. 

Steve stood and very carefully kissed Tony on the lips. It was another short sweet kiss, until Tony pulled him back for another kiss, not so short but still sweet. And hot. That kiss was hot. 

Steve pulled back and looked at Tony. “Are you sure about this?” 

“I think I am,” Tony said. “I’ve wanted to kiss you like that for a while now, but I didn’t want to seem pushy or desperate.” 

“I’ve wanted the same thing. I – there were so many reasons I didn’t, though. I’m your boss. You’re rich. I didn’t know if you were interested in men. Or me.” Steve words came out in a rush, like he’d been saving them. 

“I was lost when I walked in the door to the bookstore and saw your sky blue eyes, Steve.” 

Steve smiled shyly at Tony. “I was, too, Tony.” 

Tony moved over and patted the small bed. “Come on. There’s room on this side.”

Steve gingerly climbed into the hospital bed beside Tony. Tony snuggled to his side. Steve noticed just how many cuts and bruises there were on Tony’s body. “Please don’t let me hurt you.” 

“Give me a few days and, uh, I’ll give you a run for your money,” Tony told him and kissed his cheek again. 

“We’re a thing then?” Steve asked. 

Tony grinned happily at him. “Yep, we’re a thing.” He was sleeping in Steve’s embrace by the time Pepper got back to the room.

*

“I get my cast off today,” Tony told Steve, as if he didn’t know. 

Tony had been waiting what seemed like forever to get the darned thing off. Steve was a nervous boyfriend and wouldn’t touch him until he was sure that he wouldn’t hurt Tony. Sure, they’d made out a little, but Tony was a man in his forties, so acting like a teen was not all that exciting. 

Wait, that wasn’t true. 

Steve left him breathless and near begging several times. Quite often, to be honest. Steve was handsome, nice and his kisses curled Tony’s toes. Tony was sure he’d had a boner for almost every moment of the last six weeks. For his part, he’d have loved a hand job or a blowjob, but Steve was having none of it. 

He’d moved back into Stark Tower and Steve agreed to spend some nights there with him, though he wouldn’t move in completely. Tony thought maybe he’d ask to move in with Steve when he could climb the steps to Steve’s apartment. 

Pepper sent a car to the bookstore to pick up Tony for his doctor’s appointment to get his cast off. Steve insisted he go with him, which was fine with Tony. He was not the bravest man on earth when it came to doctors, especially ones with saws. 

The cast coming off was easy. The nurse washed a lot of the dead skin from his leg and gave him some lotion and soap that would help make the skin slough off better. 

When they got back to Stark Tower, Steve went inside with him. He made sure that Tony used the cane they suggested for the first few days. As soon as they were inside his penthouse apartment, Tony tossed his cane aside and opened his arms for Steve. 

“You need to be careful,” Steve told him. 

“Are you stalling?” 

Steve blushed, another thing that Tony loved about him. “Maybe just a little. No one can live up to what you’re expecting, especially me.”

“I just want to be naked with you, Steve.” 

“We can do that.” 

“And I want to undress you,” Tony added. Steve followed him to the bedroom and they slowly undressed one another, then lay down on Tony’s huge bed. The light was dim, but they both stole looks at one another as they kissed and as hands began exploring. Exploration led to more and soon, they loved one another, Steve entering Tony gently from behind, careful not to hurt his newly healed leg. 

After, they lay side by side, looking at the ceiling before Tony looked over at Steve and reached for his hand. “Was it worth the wait?” he asked. 

“You know I’ve loved you for a long time, so yes. It was worth the wait. I hope I didn’t -”

“Hush,” Tony said. 

“Yes sir,” Steve answered and turned on his side to face Tony. He gathered Tony into his arms and held him for a long time. 

Tony must have dozed, because Steve woke him with kisses and wandering hands. 

“Again?” Tony asked him with a smile.

“I’ll never get enough of you, Tony. Never.”

**Author's Note:**

> My [**Tumblr**](https://www.tumblr.com/blog/alexcat45).


End file.
